Industrial Strength Bluegrass has a great thing going – in Southwestern Ohio and on social media, too. Awarded Event of the Year by IBMA in 2022 and 2024, the Xenia and Wilmington, Ohio-based festival – run by Joe Mullins, and his family and staff at Real Roots Radio – have amassed tens of thousands of followers on TikTok. Clips from their Summer Fest, indoor festivals, and the radio station have racked up millions of views on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. And rightly so, their events and airwaves always boast the absolute best in bluegrass.
BGS has partnered with Industrial Strength Bluegrass over the years and this time we’re excited to bring you full-length videos of ISB’s most popular and veritably viral performances. First up, it’s a performance from Industrial Strength Bluegrass’s March 2024 edition indoors in Wilmington, Ohio at the Roberts Centre. In a rare duo appearance, fiddling phenomenons Michael Cleveland and Ron Stewart wowed the ISB crowd. In this video, the pair perform a rip-roaring rendition of “Roanoke” with Joe Mullins himself joining in on banjo, as well as IBMA Award winner Vickie Vaughn on bass, and members of High Fidelity including Jeremy Stephens, Corrina Logston Stephens, and Daniel Amick.
It’s easy to tell why this video was so popular in its shortened, vertical format! Stewart and Cleveland are two of the best, both having won IBMA’s Fiddle Player of the Year (Cleveland an unprecedented 12 times) and both beloved by legions of bluegrass fans, from jamgrass to mash and back again. For an impromptu sort of jam session on stage, it’s a magnetic and impressive performance of a classic fiddle tune. Since 2024, many snippets and clips from Cleveland and Stewart’s 3o-minute performance together at Industrial Strength Bluegrass have taken off on social media. We know we aren’t the only ones who appreciate ISB bringing bluegrass to the masses with their festival content.
Follow Industrial Strength Bluegrass on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Make plans to attend their Summer Fest held July 16-18, 2026 in Xenia, Ohio, and future indoor festivals, too. More information can be found here.
Another weekly roundup is here! You Gotta Hear This.
To get us started, Thomas Cassell reveals another track from his upcoming duo album. “Makin’ Some Noise” features his longtime friend and shredder Trey Hensley joining in on a Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers track with just enough of a Bill Monroe flair to excel with the bluegrass treatment. Plus, Colorado-based bluegrass band Jake Leg preview their new album with its title track, “No One Lives Here Anymore.” It’s an apt harbinger for the thoughtful, lonesome, and melancholic songs found on their upcoming collection – due to drop in June.
From elsewhere in bluegrass, the Lonesome River Band debut “Back When,” a song dripping with nostalgia that was co-written by LRB member Jesse Smathers with Nick Goad and Barry Hutchens. The track features a traditional instrument all too rare in bluegrass these days – the electric guitar! Nashville bluegrass outfit Greenwood Rye call on some mighty collaborators for their new song, too. “Ready to Burn” is indeed a barn burner, boasting features by Mason Via (who co-wrote the song with Greenwood’s Shawn Spencer), Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon, and IBMA Award winner Vickie Vaughn. It’s jammin’, energetic, and certainly fiery.
Don’t miss folk and Americana duo Great Willow included below as well. Their new song, “Age of Reason,” speaks to these highly divided times we’re living through – and everyone is talking about. “[We] don’t remember a time when the America we love has felt quite this disconnected and hostile against itself,” the duo tells us via email. “Americans can be so sweet and generous – you’d see it in every region as a traveling musician. How did we all fall so far so fast?” Their indie-folk track – lush with sounds and styles of the ’60s, ’70s, and Laurel Canyon – is charming in its consideration of such an existential question.
Singer-songwriter Kyle LaLone encourages all of us to “Slow Down” on his new Americana track. Inspired by quite literally running on fumes, LaLone speaks to the need we all face on the day-to-day to be present, to take deep breaths, and more. Sometimes all you need is to slow down. And make sure to hear the latest from singer-songwriter Mia Kelly, as well. “Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling” is about the highs and lows of having an all-encompassing crush, leaning into that free-falling feeling – of love and rollercoasters, both. It’s vibing and modern indie/acoustic folk that really enables the lyric and stories Kelly tells to shine.
There’s plenty to enjoy! You know what we think – You Gotta Hear This…
Thomas Cassell, “Makin’ Some Noise” (Featuring Trey Hensley)
Artist:Thomas Cassell Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee via Norton, Virginia Song: “Makin’ Some Noise” (featuring Trey Hensley) Album:Guitar Collection Release Date: May 18, 2026 (single); August 21, 2026 (album) Label: Common Loon Records
In Their Words: “Trey Hensley has been a longtime favorite of mine and more recently a great friend that I’ve been fortunate to make lots of music with. When I started to plan this collaborative album, Trey was one of the first calls I made. We are both huge Tom Petty fans, so it was natural to choose something from his catalog. This 1990s Heartbreakers track was on my mind as there was something about Mike Campbell’s guitar riff that was so Bill Monroe. It was a pleasure to work with Trey on this track – he’s truly one of the best singers and guitar players to ever do it and every time I stand next to him, I realize that in a whole new way. Hopefully this track is as fun to listen to as it was to make!” – Thomas Cassell
Track Credits: Thomas Cassell – Mandolin, lead vocal Trey Hensley – Guitar, lead vocal Jeff Picker – Bass
Great Willow, “Age of Reason”
Artist:Great Willow Hometown: Los Angeles, California Song: “Age of Reason” Release Date: May 22, 2026
In Their Words: “Erin and I don’t remember a time when the America we love has felt quite this disconnected and hostile against itself. Americans can be so sweet and generous – you’d see it in every region as a traveling musician. How did we all fall so far so fast? Our song is a lament for that lost open-heartedness and a call to hopefully return to it. Maybe reconnecting with the beautiful natural world is a start.” – James Combs
“We recorded ‘Age of Reason’ in producer Susan James’ home studio out in California horse country – with avocado trees and exotic chickens on the hill out back and her hairless Sphynx cat crawling through our cases and being hilarious inside. Susan is a preternaturally gifted artist, arranger and producer. We loved working with her. And we love the amazing Dobro and slide Ben Peeler (Mavericks, Wallflowers) played on our song. It’s the special sauce the puts it over the edge.” – Erin Hawkins
Track Credits: Erin Hawkins – Cello, vocal, songwriter James Combs – Guitar, vocal, songwriter Susan James – Organ, producer Ben Peeler – Dobro, slide guitar
Greenwood Rye & Mason Via, “Ready to Burn”
Artist:Greenwood Rye, Mason Via, Vince Herman, Vickie Vaughn Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Ready to Burn” Release Date: May 15, 2026
In Their Words: “‘Ready to Burn’ is a jammy bluegrass party song! When Mason Via and I got together to write it, we were both in a place where we had put a ton of effort into our respective albums and everything we were doing was very serious. So we wanted to shift gears a little bit and make something purely for fun. We wrote a song about getting together with our friends and preparing to have an epic barn burner. The recording of the song started as us wanting to get together to make some social media content. We ended up doing it at Parlor Studio where our friend Ethan Greek was working as an engineer. It snowballed into a full studio recording and then we thought, ‘Why stop there? Let’s get some features.’ So we called two of our favorite Nashville bluegrassers, who we love to jam with, Vince Herman (Leftover Salmon) and Vickie Vaughn (Della Mae), and asked them to join the party!” – Shawn Spencer
Track Credits: Shawn Spencer – Guitar, vocals, songwriter, producer Mason Via – Guitar, vocals, songwriter Taylor Shuck – Banjo Cat McDonald – Fiddle David Freeman – Mandolin, BGVs Larry Cook – Bass Vince Herman – Vocals Vickie Vaughn – Vocals Sasha Ostrovsky – Dobro
Mia Kelly, “Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling”
Artist:Mia Kelly Hometown: Gatineau, Quebec, Canada Song: “Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling” Album:Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling Release Date: May 22, 2026 (album)
In Their Words: “‘Big Time Roller Coaster Feeling’ is a song that details all the instances in which I have fallen for someone. As playful as it is personal, each verse describes a crush. When it came the time to make the video we decided to depict each of these crushes as a classic date, with the date’s face obscured by something ludicrous. The chorus draws from that joyful free-fall, that tummy-flipping feeling you get when you’re in love.” – Mia Kelly
Track Credits: Mia Kelly – Lead vocals, acoustic guitar Connor Seidel – Bass, piano, organ, slide guitar, percussion Olivier Fairfield – Drums, percussion Ben Plotnick – Fiddle Aaron Collis – Mandolin, accordion Adam Brisbin – Electric Guitar, slide
Video Credits: Randy Kelly – Videographer, director, editor
Kyle LaLone, “Slow Down”
Artist:Kyle LaLone Hometown: Diamond Bar, California Song: “Slow Down” Album:Make My Own Way Release Date: May 15, 2026 (single); June 12, 2026 (album)
In Their Words: “Another song that started with the title and whose lyrics were sparked by a specific event. One morning I had to drive to catch a flight to an out-of-town gig after having played a gig the night before. Once I got in my car I realized I was really low on gas and wouldn’t have enough time to stop to fill up on my way there. Luckily I made it to the parking garage near the airport but knew I would be running on fumes to find a gas station before the drive home. That situation inspired the first verse and got me thinking about my tendency to just keep going until I’m out of gas figuratively and literally when what I really need to do sometimes is slow down.” – Kyle LaLone
Jake Leg, “No One Lives Here Anymore”
Artist:Jake Leg Hometown: Lyons, Colorado Song: “No One Lives Here Anymore” Album:No One Lives Here Anymore Release Date: May 15, 2026 (single); June 13, 2026 (album)
In Their Words: “‘No One Lives Here Anymore’ is the first single and title track from our sophomore album coming out on June 13. It was probably one of the first songs written for this album and touches on the themes of sadness and isolation that show up throughout this collection of songs. I’ve always really loved and connected with sad songs so that tends to show in my writing fairly often. ‘No One Lives Here Anymore’ is sort of an ‘anti-story’ of someone who has lost connection with the aspects of life that make it fulfilling and has fallen into the pattern of observing life as it goes by rather than participating in it. Musically, the chord progression kind of folds around on itself and I think is representative of the cyclical nature of some of these feelings that we experience throughout life.” – Dylan McCarthy
Artist:Lonesome River Band Hometown: Floyd, Virginia Song: “Back When” Release Date: May 15, 2026 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “I’m so proud to have had a hand in writing ‘Back When’ with my pals Nick Goad and Barry Hutchens. As we had a conversation on Barry’s back porch we reminisced about our youth, the mischief we got into, and of course being musicians, our first chords, and songs we learned. Looking back, those moments are so sentimental and they made me into who I am today. It’s important to be aware of those subtle reminders that take us to our formative years way ‘back when.'” – Jesse Smathers, songwriter, guitarist
“The essence of ‘Back When’ is how the least little thing – a conversation with an old friend, a song, etc. – can cause memories to come flooding back. It was a real privilege for me to have the opportunity to write it with Jesse and Nick. They are both such talented writers and musicians. It’s one of those songs that came about simply by the three of us sitting around and reminiscing about when we were kids and growing up playing music.” – Barry Hutchens, songwriter
Track Credits: Adam Miller – Mandolin, lead vocal Sammy Shelor – Banjo, harmony vocal Jesse Smathers – Acoustic guitar, harmony vocal Mike Hartgrove – Fiddle Kameron Keller – Upright bass Rod Riley – Electric guitar
Photo Credit: Thomas Cassell by Scott Simontacchi; Greenwood Rye courtesy of the artist.
Fifteen years ago, bluegrass band Della Mae’s vocalist Celia Woodsmith wrote her future self a letter. She was 25 years old, burned out on trying to make it in Boston’s rock scene, and reeling from the loss of her father.
“If you can just die, why would you be doing something that you didn’t love to do?” she asked.
Her answer – and her hopes for her future self, which Woodsmith wrote into that letter – inspired the title track and underlying message of the band’s new album, Magic Accident, which marvels at the improbability of existence. As Woodsmith sings on “Magic Accident”:
We all start with something No one comes from nothing It took a millennia to get you here You’re a magic accident, the way that fate bent With a little carbon and gravity Carbon and gravity
“Our life is just a series of these little accidents – my parents meeting, their parents meeting. And it’s a beautiful and magical thing that we’re all here right now. It’s a beautiful and magical thing that Della Mae is here,” Woodsmith says. “That’s the basis behind that song, and it’s the basis behind how I think about a lot of my life. It’s just a beautiful accident that I’m here at all. So I might as well enjoy it and do the best thing, the best that I can, while I can.”
Magic Accident, as an album, a song, a concept, and a band ethos, celebrates following one’s own path. All four members of Della Mae – Woodsmith, founder and fiddler Kimber Ludiker, guitarist Avril Smith, and bassist Vickie Vaughn – lost their fathers prematurely, which bonds them as a band and altered how each woman sees the world. And making it as one of the few all-women bluegrass bands inherently required the Dellas to push boundaries and carve out space for their lives and stories.
“If I could talk to the little girl inside of me/ I’d let her know the world ain’t what it seems/ And if she would listen/ Could I keep her safe from making my mistakes?” the band wonders on “My Own Highway,” the album’s second track. Later, they remind the next generation of the same sentiment in “Out Run ‘Em,” written by Smith (co-written with Caroline Spence) for her pre-teen daughter, advising, “If you go with the crowd, you can’t out run ‘em.”
Indeed, all of Magic Accident listens like a set of love and advice letters to the band’s younger and current selves.
“I don’t think we could have written this album as young women. This is an older, wiser woman sort of thing,” Woodsmith says.
Elsewhere on Magic Accident, the band appreciates life’s small, sweet, desperately important moments. “Nothing at All,” which Woodsmith wrote with Spence, is a gentle appreciation of love that’s aged comfortably, while “Little Bird,” which the pair also wrote, relishes slow days and simple life joys.
“What do they say? One of the biggest forms of revolution is having joy in spite of what’s going on around you,” says Vaughn, about including these kinds of emotional interludes on the album. “And sometimes, the little things are all we have right now, whenever all this bullshit is happening.”
These songs would not be confused with light subject fare, though. The weight and wisdom of lived experience grounds Magic Accident in conviction and clarity, even when it may appear uncomfortable. “Family Tree,” a furious track driven by producer Alison Brown’s banjo picking and Ludiker’s fiddle, explores what it takes to break harmful generational cycles. “What You’re Looking For” ends a relationship that no longer serves the narrator. On the album’s only cover, Bruce Robison’s “Lifeline,” Vaughn on vocals (with Mary Bragg on harmony), reaches a hand down to anyone struggling to find their footing in the buffeting of life.
“The weight has become unbearable,” Woodsmith says. “We speak our minds and we fight for the things that we think are right; we all feel strongly about a lot of the same things, like women’s rights. But that can be a heavy load to bear and to sing constantly night after night.
“Sometimes we choose not to sing some of these songs that we believe so strongly, just because it’s become hard to bear that weight. I think this album lets us see the light a little bit.”
Though it’s full of interpersonal songs, on the final track of Magic Accident Della Mae zooms out to consider the state of the world. Sonically bluegrass and lyrically a protest, “Takes All Kinds” – co-written by Vaughn and singer/songwriter Melody Walker – asks the world to consider its future, as well:
Oh, the politicians who write the laws (Oh, lord it takes all kinds) They say they stand for the underdog (Oh, lord it takes all kinds)
But then they take my rights away (Oh, lord it takes all kinds) For a greenback dollar at the end of the day (Oh, lord it takes all kinds)
Ludiker started Della Mae in part out of frustration with how few women she saw on concert bills and in bluegrass bands. “After talking with a lot of people, it was pretty clear that maybe those bands also wouldn’t hire women for various reasons; I eventually got the idea to start my own band,” she says.
“My brain just wouldn’t accept the fact that [otherwise] maybe I wouldn’t have some of the [same] opportunities that I would have if I was a boy.”
To that end, Della Mae has been part of building a more inclusive, supportive community in bluegrass. Indeed, Woodsmith joined the band soon after writing herself the letter that inspired “Magic Accident.” At the time, she planned to quit music and join the Peace Corps. Instead, 15 years on, Della Mae has produced six studio albums (including their GRAMMY-nominated This World Oft Can Be on Rounder Records) and toured over 30 countries with the U.S. State Department music diplomacy program.
Della Mae is, by their own estimation, the longest-touring all-woman bluegrass band. Which would prove, as they put it on their website, “once and for all, that a band of all women is not, nor has ever been, a mere novelty.”
“Hopefully we can inspire other little magic accidents,” Woodsmith says. “Like other women or other young people who want to play, who see us at the right time in their lives to push them forward to playing music, and to step outside of their comfort zones and do something they thought might be impossible.”
If you’re looking for a definitive, qualitative, and deliberate ranking; a firm and scientific rubric; or an unbiased, sterile reckoning of the best albums made in bluegrass this year, this roundup may not be for you.
Truthfully, as someone who’s worked, been acquainted, and become friends with many of the artists on this list in various capacities – from bio writing to onstage performances to media coverage to pickin’ parties to recordings and beyond – objectivity isn’t something I, personally, could establish anyway. And such year-end or other merit-based lists and collections aren’t all that interesting, are they, if not just to argue with their curation and selections.
I would not even attempt such things, because to me – to many of us – that’s not what bluegrass is about anyway. Bluegrass is about a feeling. It’s about innovation. It’s about virtuosity. It’s about tradition, loving it or retooling it or coaxing it or turning it upside down. It’s about adrenaline and a high pulse – and passing a mason jar around. It’s about feeling downtrodden or alone, shedding tears into that very ‘shine, and wailing along with the high lonesome sound. It’s folk music as much as it’s abject commercial country in “poor people drag.” It’s endlessly interesting and complex, but pretty damn simple, too.
Anyone with even an ounce of sense knows and understands that bluegrass can’t ever be objective. So indeed, why try? Why not acknowledge that bluegrass is always a matter of taste, of preference, of whimsical or capricious or convicted opinion? Bluegrass is always debatable, because, after all, bluegrass is always in the eye of the beholder.
In the eyes – and especially ears – of this particular beholder, these albums released in 2025 were the best, the most memorable, the most engaging. These collections stick to ribs like ham hocks, or stick in your throat like the tastiest clod of emotional peanut butter. They each advance, subvert, perpetuate, or wrinkle our core ideas of what bluegrass is – and what it can be.
Are each and every one of these LPs the best in bluegrass from 2025? Perhaps not… But also definitely yes.
Big Richard, Girl Dinner
In January, we gobbled down a heaping helping of Big Richard energy with the nourishing and nutritious Girl Dinner. The project may have been the band’s album debut, but this Colorado all-women quartet had already been making remarkable waves in the bluegrass, jamgrass, and string band scenes – and each of the members had extensive and glitzy musical resumés before they even convened. With a new album, Pet, on the horizon for February 2026, a signing with Signature Sounds, and an upcoming co-bill tour with fellow femme outfit Della Mae, we can tell this Girl Dinner is set to become an ongoing traveling feast.
Shawn Camp, The Ghost of Sis Draper
I remember attending Station Inn shows in Nashville in the early 2010s and sitting with rapt attention – like Martha’s sister Mary at the feet of Jesus – as Shawn Camp performed his suite of Sis Draper songs with his star-studded bluegrass bands. Often you’d hear just “Magnolia Wind” or just “Sis Draper.” Sometimes he would perform a more complete handful of the tracks he had written, individually and with his hero and mentor Guy Clark, about the mythical roots music figure from his home state of Arkansas. Now, he’s collected the slate of material – what could easily become a musical or multi-disciplinary theatre work of some kind – into one commanding, lovely, and visceral album. These are timeless songs, written and rendered as only Camp could.
Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland, Carter & Cleveland
Every now and again a new collaborative duo album comes along and makes you think, “Oh! This must have been what it felt like when Skaggs & Rice was released.” Or Tone Poems. Or Ralph Stanley and Jimmy Martin’s First Time Together. A monumental occasion, captured for posterity’s sake in the studio. When fiddlers Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland released their duo debut, that was the feeling. History made in the present, a work that will be regarded as seminal ages into the future being enjoyed in real time. Carter and Cleveland have collaborated quite a bit over the decades they’ve known each other, but what a gift to have that musical friendship ensconced forever on this album. We hope there is more to come.
Wes Corbett, Drift
Look, if all modernist banjo players sounded like Béla Fleck and Noam Pikelny, that would certainly be great. But thankfully there are dozens of five-string pickers continuing to expand on the Fleck (and Pikelny and Munde and Keith and Trischka) school of Scruggs-style, each in their own veins. Corbett is one of the best. Though he blends effortlessly into Scott Vestal’s former role in Sam Bush’s band – or into any number of recordings and one-off pick-up bands that boast his playing in newgrass and bluegrass and beyond – Corbett is a true idiosyncratic banjo player and composer. Drift, his latest, often employs traditional techniques as tools for innovation and contemporary tunesmithing. He recalls the great melodic pickers while always sounding first and foremost like himself.
East Nash Grass, All God’s Children
A few years ago, if you had told me the ragamuffin band holding down Monday nights at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge in Madison, Tennessee, would in 2025 release an album you’d describe as “heartfelt, contemplative, and intentional,” I would have probably laughed. East Nash Grass were just as jaw-dropping good then as they are now, but with that down-home silliness and clumsy charm all the great bluegrass bands born of indentured residencies have had. All God’s Children finds the band all the way grown up (but not really), and they never forsake their banter-rich, never-know-what-you’re-gonna-get roots. That overlap – of silly and heartfelt and virtuosic and not too serious – is where most (if not all) of the best bluegrass is born, anyway.
Sierra Hull, A Tip Toe High Wire
Every single time Sierra Hull releases a new album, journalists and critics love to talk about how she’s now “found herself” and “found her sound.” This writer, however, disagrees. I first saw Hull perform when we were both in our mid-teens and then as now I knew, wholeheartedly, this is someone who knows who they are. Granted, Hull has done plenty of finding herself along the way, as we all do, but the songs and tunes of A Tip Toe High Wire were obviously not born of someone just locating her voice, musically or otherwise. They don’t feel experimental or out on a limb, they are each solidly in her wheelhouse. They do still push the envelope, though, and they all tell personal stories, draw on individual experiences, and chase those treasured Hull-ian melodies wherever they lead.
I’m With Her, Wild and Clear and Blue
Perhaps all future I’m With Her albums should be made while basking in the “Ancient Light” of a total solar eclipse, given the striking sonic successes of Wild and Clear and Blue. Is that cosmic magic why their second full-length release feels so distinct and metamorphosed from their debut? Is it all the years and personal growth in between recordings? It’s not like they reinvented the wheel, they’re the exact same band – but something feels different here. Whatever the special sauce may be, all of I’m With Her’s offerings over the course of the band’s lifespan have been stellar, but this latest full-length project stands apart. As long as Jarosz, O’Donovan, and Watkins are making music together, we will be unendingly grateful they offer us these recorded windows into their creativity.
Kissing Other ppl, Kissing Other ppl
Bluegrass and old-time birth new projects, bands, and collaborations all the time. Some are purposefully momentary, some are unintentional flashes in the pan, some are such long strings of last names ampersand-ed together you know there’s no future for them. We hope Kissing Other ppl are here to stay. Rachel Baiman and Viv & Riley joined forces on the album – and band – turning mainstream and pop songs into bluegrassy and old-timey string band arrangements that positively vibrate with passion and life. “Sad boi” covers these are not, though you may at times find them subdued or tender or mild. Long may this old-time Americana musical polycule reign.
Cameron Knowler, CRK
If you’ve been craving a contemporary storyteller and poet who utilizes the guitar as their medium – like Norman Blake or Doc Watson or Tony Rice or so many others – I am so pleased to step onto my soapbox to tell you about Cameron Knowler. Also a writer (at times for BGS), archivist, photographer, and visual artist, Knowler’s guitar-centered album, CRK, is almost anything but a “guitar album,” despite each and every composition centering on the instrument. The LP paints vivid and haunting musical portraits of a place Knowler loves, longs for – and despises or begrudges, too – Yuma, Arizona. Knowler wouldn’t even pretend to compare himself to Norman Blake or state that he’s deliberately taking up Blake’s heavy, heavy mantle in the 2020s, but I’m saying he is. Thank goodness.
Bryan McDowell, Bryan McDowell
You may recognize multi-instrumentalist Bryan McDowell from his time performing, recording, and touring with artists like Claire Lynch, Sierra Hull, Molly Tuttle, Alison Brown, and many, many more. He’s an incredibly talented sideman and session player, so when I first received his new self-titled solo album, I imagined the sort of formless instrumental project most pickers with similar resumés create. What a pleasant surprise to find a fully fledged, well-rounded, complete song sequence chocked full of original songs and McDowell’s lovely, honeyed singing voice. (I know Bryan and I didn’t know he sang like this!) It’s on me, really – I shouldn’t have been surprised at all – but McDowell’s skill set is clearly no longer just geared towards backing others up. I am looking forward to seeing what’s next.
Shelby Means, Shelby Means
Speaking of artists ready to step out of the role of sideperson or session musician. Bassist, singer, and songwriter Shelby Means’ debut solo album is fantastic. Since departing Molly Tuttle’s Golden Highway, Means has already built striking momentum as an artist unto herself, and the quick success of her album has played a huge role in that. With originals, tasteful (and surprising) covers, and a star-studded roster of pickers – Tuttle, Ron Block, Michael Cleveland, and more – the project certainly doesn’t feel like a debut. And it shouldn’t, Means has crisscrossed the country and the globe for decades, she’s more than ready to step to the center of the stage. She’s done it before, she’s doing it again – and now a lot more frequently, I’d bet.
The Onlies, You Climb the Mountain
All the best bluegrass is old-time these days. (I say that over and over again, here’s what it means.) While mainstream bluegrass sounds more like ‘90s country played by a bluegrass string band, or jamgrass, or “MASH” – all of which depart greatly from the 1945/1946 sound of its origin – modern old-time becomes more and more of an audio swatch of essential parts of what bluegrass used to sound like and used to include. One album this year that epitomizes this phenomenon is the Onlies’ You Climb the Mountain. Is it phenotypical bluegrass? Oh, no. It’s not. But it also has plenty of textures and tones endemic to original bluegrass that are becoming increasingly rare in its modern forms. I shouldn’t sell the Onlies short, though, they aren’t here because they’re “better bluegrass” than bluegrass, or more authentic, or more “real.” They’re here because this album is excellent, on its own terms.
Danny Paisley, Bluegrass State of Mind
Danny Paisley is celebrating 50 years of bluegrass with his latest album, Bluegrass State of Mind. Still looking for new challenges and trying to add fresh sparkle to his dyed-in-the-wool traditional sound, the new LP includes Dobro (for the first time), drums (sacrilege!), and a bit of an Americana lean. (Don’t you dare call it “grassicana.”) To BGS readers, the project will most likely sound like straight down the middle bluegrass of the highest order. Longtime fans of Paisley & the Southern Grass, though, may notice that very sparkle Danny has been chasing, as he targets new audiences and still sets new goals, five decades into his career as a bluegrass tradesman. It’s the family business.
Missy Raines & Allegheny, Love & Trouble
Missy Raines is one of the winningest musicians in the history of IBMA, amassing 10 Bass Player of the Year trophies over the years and and a handful of honors in other categories, as well. She may have won her biggest prize, though, when she landed on her latest band lineup, Missy Raines & Allegheny, a few years ago now. Her second album with the group, Love & Trouble, continues building upon the chemistry and collaboration that dripped from 2024’s Highlander. They often rise to the occasion of my preferred nickname for them, Mashy Raines & Allegheny, but they remain a consistently dynamic group capable of gritty, barn-burning bluegrass and contemplative and emotive slow burners, just the same.
Red Camel Collective, Red Camel Collective
They began as Junior Sisk’s backing band, and like many of the great “spinoff” bluegrass bands of yore – Quicksilver (Authentic Unlimited), the New South (American Drive), and many more – Red Camel Collective have quickly shown they’ve got the chops to take the same route. Their debut self-titled album was released earlier this year and was made at Sisk’s suggestion – and with his blessing. (He regularly steps off the stage at his own shows to spotlight the Collective and their music, as well.) This band of lifelong pickers have clocked so many miles playing bluegrass and executing the visions of others that, when charting their own course as Red Camel Collective, they’re able to sound exactly like themselves. It’s tough to sound singular in modern, radio-inclined bluegrass. But Red Camel Collective do. Is that why they won New Artist of the Year at the IBMA Awards this fall? It sure ain’t coincidence.
Sister Sadie, All Will Be Well
Sister Sadie’s All Will Be Well is like dropping the needle on a 45-minute bluegrass therapy session. I don’t say it flippantly or sarcastically; it is indeed shocking the level of earnest contemplation, processing, emoting, and growth evident in the songs on this album. At the same time, when you hear the tracks played down at a bustling bluegrass festival or a packed rock club or a subdued listening room, they never feel twee or try-hard or sodden with greeting-card level sentiments. They never feel heavy, actually – this is fun, often hilarious, party-ready music. Dance-along music. Shout-along songs. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. (At the vocals alone.) These are real human ideas, thoughts, and feelings set to bluegrass. Imagine.
Larry Sparks, Way Back When
How does this album seem like it could have been pulled from any year, any decade of Bluegrass Hall of Famer Larry Spark’s sceptered career? Because it could have been, damnit. He’s Larry Sparks. Way Back When sounds warm and live, like listening to tape or vinyl over earbuds or cell phone speakers. Like being in the room with that resonant, vibrant, and patinated voice. The material is timeless, but never tired or lost in retrospection. Sparks is obviously making bluegrass in the present, as he always has. He just sounds exactly like this. And the way he talks about making music – as he did in a BGS interview set for publish in January 2026 – you can tell, for him, it’s essential to inhabit the present and inhabit the song. Bluegrass really is his calling, and we’re all all the better for it.
Billy Strings & Bryan Sutton, Live At The Legion
One of the best bluegrass albums of the year? Of course. One of the best live shows and tours of the year? Doubly, triply, quadruply of course. You’d think it would be brain-melting to listen to hours of two acoustic guitars and an electric bass pick through bluegrass, fiddle tunes, and Doc Watson classics, but it was divine. Trance-like – not with eyes glazed over, but on the edge of your seat. I wasn’t at that show at the Legion when they tracked the album, but was lucky enough to catch their show this fall at the Ryman in Nashville. If you weren’t so fortunate, don’t worry, ‘cause this isn’t an incredibly exclusive club. This record really does capture all that’s ineffable of being “in the room.” (No one is surprised.) Turns out, you can actually bottle and sell it, if you’re these two. Now if only you could buy the skillset, too…
Thompson the Fox, The Fox in Tiger’s Clothing, vol. 1 & vol. 2
Maybe once a year I trip over or into a new music discovery that gets me so excited I start getting annoyed with myself from having to hear me recommend them over and over again. With Thompson the Fox, it never got annoying (not to me, at least) and the excitement of turning folks onto their music still hasn’t worn off. So here we are, again. If this is your initiation, don’t thank me, thank the people who sent Thompson the Fox my way. Jazz, newgrass, bluegrass, bebop, ragtime, and oh-so-many more styles and textures combine in a completely fresh and distinctive form. I’ve never heard new acoustic music quite like this, yet it’s clearly rooted in that tradition. The simple math of xylophone, banjo, bass, and drums doesn’t quite math, but this group sounds resplendent, rich, and fascinating. Takumi Kodera on banjo is a revelation and Rie Koyama (xylophone), Akihide Teshima (bass), and Tomohito Yoshijima (drums) complete the Tokyo-based ensemble.
Cristina Vane, Hear My Call
Cristina Vane exists at an intersection of roots music that far too few inhabit, because very few can manage there. Vane can. She does blues, bluegrass, old-time, country, and Americana. Sometimes blended, sometimes compartmentalized. She’s got short-form, short-attention-span, vertical-video appeal for days, but her songs are never vapid or playing to any kind of commercial common denominator. Her instrumental skills and the passion for learning and song collection across roots and folk genres that she exhibits bring it all together. I’d not want to subject either woman to the corniness of comparing one to the other, but for folks who love Sierra Ferrell and are looking for more artists in a similar roots-meets-mainstream space, Cristina Vane can do it. She is doing it.
Vickie Vaughn, Travel On
Vickie Vaughn has won IBMA Bass Player of the Year for three years in a row and on the heels of that remarkable accomplishment, she’s released her debut full-length solo album, Travel On. Produced by Deanie Richardson of Sister Sadie, it’s Vaughn’s first recording under her own name released in 10 years. Original songs and covers are packaged in a sound that’s always trad bluegrass, but often infused with a dash of Osborne Brothers from the ‘80s or Jim & Jesse with a drum kit. It’s an Earl Scruggs Revue sort of flair, troubadour-steeped bluegrass-country. And it’s divine.
To conclude this long yet non-exhaustive and surely myopic list of the best bluegrass albums of 2025, let me leave you with this gentle reminder. What’s bluegrass and what’s best are always in the eye – and the ear – of the beholder.
What was your favorite bluegrass album of 2025? Let us know on social media. We hope you discover some new music to love in our BGS Class of 2025 and we can’t wait to make new discoveries with you, too.
BGS Staff contributed to this list.
Photo Credit: Shelby Means by Hunter McRae; Shawn Camp by Neilson Hubbard; Sierra Hull by Spencer Showalter.
If you’ve listened to bluegrass made in the last decade, odds are you’re not only familiar with but absolutely enamored by the utter powerhouse that is Vickie Vaughn. Named the IBMA Bass Player of the Year thrice in a row (2023, 2024, & 2025), Vaughn has established herself as more than a class act – she’s an integral anchor of today’s bluegrass scene and beyond. Presently touring with the acclaimed all-women supergroup Della Mae, Vickie has a slew of accolades under her belt, having sung background vocals with Patty Loveless, toured with High Fidelity, and collaborated with just about every esteemed bluegrass musician under the sun.
November 21, 2025 saw Vaughn set sail unto uncharted waters with the release of her debut full-length solo album, Travel On. Released by Mountain Home Music Company, Vaughn deploys an all-star cast to bring her dynamic compositions to light. The record features guest vocals from Ronnie McCoury, Casey Campell on mandolin, Wes Corbett on banjo, Cody Kilby on guitar, Dave Racine on drums, harmony vocals from Justin Hiltner, Lillie Mae, and Frank Rische, and fiddle from Deanie Richardson, who also serves as the record’s producer.
Travel On champions Vaughn as its frontwoman, a role she hasn’t chronicled in studio since her six-song EP came out a decade ago. Her songwriting is full of dynamic abundance, from the deeply stirring gospel song “The Pilot,” to the absolutely raging “Sleepin’ in the Rain” to the emotive and heartfelt “Mama Took Her Ring off Yesterday.” Vaughn manages to strike a full range of emotions throughout the album’s thoughtful arc, a narrative bound by her buoyant relationship to both rhythm and melody alike.
Ahead of the album’s release, BGS had the unmatched pleasure of sitting down with Vickie Vaughn for a chat about Travel On, music, machinations, musicianship, and more.
Congratulations on the album release! I want to hear all about Travel On, but I’m wondering if you’d be able to take us back to the start for a bit and tell us about your personal musical history.
Vickie Vaughn: Oh golly! I started really early because of my cousins, who I adored growing up. I really looked up to them and they were just great singers who sang all the time and could play piano and guitar. I grew up in a Baptist church. When I was little, maybe six years old, the preacher’s wife found out that I could sing, so she asked me to come sing in the choir. I grew up singing in church and then when I was nine years old, back in Kentucky where I’m from, I got hired as a background vocalist. I know it sounds insane – I’m so normal now, but I was like a freak kid! I could hear harmony and sing every part. When the guy running the Kentucky Opry found that out, I was hired as a kind of novelty act at nine years old. I was there every weekend from when I was nine to when I moved out at 17 as a resident female vocalist and background vocalist.
As for the instrument side of things, my parents had me play classical piano and I hated it so much. I honestly got into bluegrass kind of late for a bluegrass musician – around 14. You know, Sierra Hull, Kimber Ludiker – they started when they couldn’t speak words, but I was a little late to the game. I would go to these bluegrass jams and there would be a bass there, but nobody would be playing bass. So I would pick it up, and I could add decent rhythm, stay on beat, learn the open chords. But then I started taking lessons from this guy named Scottie Henson. He traveled with the Grand Ole Opry touring band back when that was a thing. He was a banjo player, but he taught me how to play bass, which is incredible.
When I was 17, I moved to Nashville to go to Belmont and I was a classical vocalist there. I moved to commercial vocals my junior year and bass was a hobby. I got involved in the bluegrass ensemble and that’s kind of how I got known as a bass player in school. And then I got hired by a touring band from a girl I knew from bluegrass ensemble. The rest is history!
As you were growing up drenched in music, do you recall any songs that particularly sparked inspiration or curiosity for you as a child?
I remember when I was in the car with my dad, I used to love the music he listened to. Mama would always listen to Southern gospel and that was just not my jam. I remember telling Dad, “I hate the stuff that mom listens to.” And he was like, “Oh god, me too.” And I just remember thinking, “You’re so cool, Dad.” Once, we were listening to a classic rock station and the freaking “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” came on – I know there are all these memes about it now. But I remember having a moment with him in the truck where I was just like, “What is this?” And he was like, “Oh yeah, it’s a true story.” And I was like, “Get out!” That one really struck me.
Another one, which isn’t really a song, but there was this radio station, the local country station – 93.3 WKYQ. On the weekends, starting at 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, there was a radio program called the Outlaw Hours, and they would play stuff like Waylon Jennings, Merle, Steve Earle, Charlie Robison. It was outlaw music, edgier rootsy stuff, even some edgier bluegrass stuff. I remember riding in the car back from the Kentucky Opry and I’m just like, “Daddy, let’s listen to Outlaw Hours.” He was like, “You like that stuff??” Because I was little, and you know, a lot of that was not appropriate for a child to listen to, but I just loved it.
I can totally see how that influence carries through into your music today.
Well, I liked the subject matter. It wasn’t all about love. I don’t really like to write songs about love. There are already a lot of songs about love. I don’t have anything unique to say about love. I have something unique to say about the way I process a hangover. Or my faith! My faith is so individualistic and personal. If I feel like I don’t have a new idea, I’m not gonna write it or sing about it.
What is the songwriting process like for you? How did you go about selecting the songs on this album?
This might sound silly too, but do you ever walk around the house and just sing about what you see? So many of my songs come out that way. Like with “Bottle of Wine” – I collect wine, so I always have some on hand. Then it was the day after a breakup and I was super hungover, because I had decided to just drink about it. I walked out of my bedroom and I saw all these empty bottles of wine on the coffee table. And I thought, “I don’t want to see another bottle of wine. Maybe I’ll write that into a song when I’m feeling better.” That’s how most of my songs come out, the hook will come to me and then I’ll just expand on it. Sometimes I like to co-write, like with Thomm Jutz, we co-wrote “Bottle of Wine.” But then “The Pilot,” a song about my faith, I wrote by myself. Faith is so, so personal. Even if a person of faith and I could agree on some fundamental levels, my faith and my walk are so different than literally anyone else’s. So I had to write my own unique faith-based song.
Then “Mama Took Her Ring Off Yesterday” I co-wrote with Deanie Richardson. I brought that idea to her because my dad passed and he was one of my best friends in the world. He hated sappy sad songs, so I didn’t want to write that. I knew I needed to write a song, then I went to visit my mom about three months after he passed. We went to a Mexican restaurant and she slid her left hand over past the chips and salsa, showing me that she took her ring off. I support her and everybody grieves differently, but I still told her I thought it was early for that. But she’s bootstrap Kentucky and she was like, “We have to move on. Life doesn’t stop.” I was just left thinking, “Wow, Mama took her ring off yesterday. That’s the moment I need to write about.” I took it to Deanie because she knew my dad and knows my mom and she really walked with me through my grieving process.
That one turned out so beautifully! I’m curious – you’ve had an extremely successful bluegrass career for a number of years. What made now feel like the right time to put out a solo album?
The awards. Women always apologize for winning and here I am, apologizing for saying “my awards,” but that’s really what it was. People are paying attention. If I’m gonna write a song, I don’t want it to hit deaf ears. Making a record is such an expensive and painstaking process and your heart and soul go into it. After my dad died – well, he was such a cheerleader for me. And an inspiration – he just inspired me. If I was feeling bad about something, I felt like if he believed in me, then I could do it, you know? I didn’t believe in myself without him for a long time, so I couldn’t do it. Especially in the music industry, you can’t do shit if you don’t believe in yourself. It’s too hard. So I waited a while until I felt like there were enough people who believed in me and then I believed in myself. That’s when I felt like I had the energy and the belief to make a record that people would actually hear.
That makes a ton of sense. How do you feel like your relationship to music has changed now that you’ve taken on the role as captain of a project?
This is the first time I’ve ever made a full-length record that’s my own and not just playing on somebody else’s. And of course, Deanie is producing it, but being in control of the material and the direction of the record – it’s funny that you ask, because I almost didn’t realize the direction of the record until it was done. I realized after I heard it all in one setting. The concept is vulnerable joy.
Working on anybody else’s record and supporting them in that way – especially with the bass, which is such a big vibe creator as an instrument – I never felt like I could choose, or was confident enough to choose, the direction. But finally, here I am in my mid-30s, and I’m ready. It was so fun taking the reins artistically, getting to sign off on every bit of it. Every choice I felt in my heart. I was able to say, “If this doesn’t scream Vickie as fuck Vaughn, then I don’t want it!” I would rather not make a record [any other way]. Because when I was younger, I made EPs that I thought other people would like. That was the point for me. But now I’ve traveled around and I know what works. I know what an audience likes to hear; that base is covered. The process of just having to make it totally “me” – that was my favorite part.
How did you go about choosing the community to help you out with bringing this record to life?
So the engineer, Sean Sullivan, I’ve worked with him for a long time on other people’s records, and then I did a small project with him that never got released. This might sound nitpicky, but I feel like the sound engineer in a recording process makes one of the biggest differences. It’s hard when there’s too much input – that’s the producer’s job. But I wanted to work with Sean because he’s so efficient, he’s quick and he has such a calm spirit. He gives direction or a suggestion so seldom that when he does I really take it to heart.
And then, as for Deanie Richardson, my producer, I always knew that she was an amazing musician, but this is the first time that I have really been enamored with her production abilities. It’s the first time I’ve worked with her as a producer. She has taken each song and made it into my record. I would come to her with just bass and vocals, and she would just shape each song and make them each sound different. She’s a freaking genius! And she’s totally unafraid to just be herself. She’s an unashamed woman and that’s the energy I wanted in my record.
The band on the record is all folks that I’ve known and played with here in town. I didn’t want there to be anybody on the record I hadn’t played with or loved or traveled with. Because it’s my first record and I know me, and I know that I would be self-conscious if there was a stranger in the room. And then Justin, my best friend, he just matched my freak so hard on there. We have such a beautiful community.
It’s so beautiful how y’all uplift and support each other! How is it feeling for you to finally have this piece coming out into the world?
I’m terrified, but I don’t know – I kind of like that! I like a challenge. If I’m not scared, then I don’t care. I’m really excited to hear what folks think about it. I want to see what songs touch people and learn from that. And I’m really excited for Deanie to be introduced as a producer, and for everybody to see her talents in that area. I’m really excited to learn from the release. I’ve learned so much in the process already, because there’s so many firsts, and I’m excited for the reception of this record to influence my next. That one will be even more me. I never want to stop growing!
You know what you need? You need a roundup of brand new roots music!
In this edition of our weekly collection, Andy Leftwich kicks us off with a frequent fiddle contest selection, “Tom and Jerry,” giving an appropriate Texas swing treatment to the classic tune. It draws from his childhood growing up performing and competing at contests. A couple of Leftwich’s labelmates on Mountain Home Music are included below, as well. North Carolina’s Unspoken Tradition call on Danny Paisley, Jason Carter, and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes to guest on “I’ll Break Out Again Tonight.” Below, the group’s bassist Sav Sankaran gives us some insight on who inspired their cover of the track and how they chose their special guests. Plus, bassist and singer-songwriter Vickie Vaughn, also on Mountain Home, releases her most vulnerable original track to date, “Mama Took Her Ring Off Yesterday.” Written with Deanie Richardson, who produced Vaughn’s upcoming solo debut, it’s a song about grief, loss, and how life always marches on.
In a similar sonic space to our bluegrass selections, Old Crow Medicine Show have pitched in for John McCutcheon’s upcoming album that pays tribute to the seminal 1925 Mountain City Fiddlers Convention to mark the year of its 100th anniversary. The album, Long Journey Home: a Century After the 1925 Mountain City Fiddlers Convention, was produced by McCutcheon and features an incredible varied roster of artists and pickers rendering songs that pay homage to the important East Tennessee gathering. OCMS perform “Whatcha Gonna Do with the Baby,” which McCutcheon has set to photos from the album’s star-studded recording sessions.
Also below you’ll hear Amanda Pascali combine cultures and sounds from Sicily and the American South on “Amuri,” a brand new song from her upcoming album, Roses and Basil. It’s a delightfully cross-genre track, with touches of cumbia, Latin folk, Texas, Sicily – of course – and beyond. You won’t want to miss new music from Queen Bonobo (AKA Maya Goldblum), either. “Waiting Tables” is the indie-alt-folk artist’s Saturn Return song, about manifesting success and chasing dreams.
It’s a lovely collection of new songs and videos and you know what we’re gonna say… You Gotta Hear This!
Andy Leftwich, “Tom and Jerry”
Artist:Andy Leftwich Hometown: Carthage, Tennessee Song: “Tom and Jerry” Release Date: July 25, 2025 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “This song brings back so many memories for me. I grew up competing in fiddle contests all around the southern region of the United States where I met some of the best fiddlers of our day and was introduced to the style of Texas fiddling. ‘Tom and Jerry’ is an anthem and you’ll hear it played in just about every fiddling contest and Texas jam session there is. This arrangement is a development of those experiences and pays homage to my upbringing, reminding me of where I started. It’s hard to describe the feeling you get when you play these tunes with those incredible passing chords along with the Texas swing feel. It’s just so much fun!” – Andy Leftwich
Track Credits: Andy Leftwich – Fiddle, mandolin Byron House – Upright bass Cody Kilby – Acoustic guitar
Old Crow Medicine Show, “Whatcha Gonna Do with the Baby”
In Their Words: “Old Crow Medicine Show probably wouldn’t be a band if it weren’t for the time we spent around Johnson County, Tennessee, in the late ’90s. It was there that we learned to love the plain affairs of simple living in the hills, where country music was born. Fiddlers like JB Grayson were an early inspiration to us and the legend of the 1925 Mountain City Fiddlers Convention loomed large, even 75 years later. Now 100 years have passed since this, the first of the big national old-time music conventions, and we are mighty proud to have played a role alongside the great John McCutcheon in bringing this album to fruition.
John first approached me a year ago with the exciting news that he was embarking on a tribute to the Mountain City Fiddlers convention, the event that was so instrumental to the development of the Upper East Tennessee region’s identity as the national headwaters for hillbilly music. I immediately jumped in headfirst, bringing along Old Crow as the first act to sign up for the project. Many of the recordings we helped John make at our own Hartland Studio in East Nashville and now we are honored to finally be able to express our gratitude to Johnson County, Tennessee, an inspirational community for our band.” – Ketch Secor
“I first heard about Mountain City, Tennessee, as a teenager just beginning to play the banjo. I heard the Folkways album Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley’s and it changed the way I thought about the banjo and music as a whole. When I was finally lucky enough to get to Mountain City – doing a concert – I realized how important this little town and its heritage was. When the centenary of the 1925 fiddlers convention was rolling around, I called a bunch of my musical pals and invited them to join me in celebrating this event and, at the same time, benefit the fledgling arts center the town had started. My only request of the musicians was: Don’t make these museum pieces. Own them. I want to hear your fingerprints all over the music. And it turned out way cooler than I ever imagined.” – John McCutcheon
Amanda Pascali, “Amuri”
Artist:Amanda Pascali Hometown: Houston, Texas Song: “Amuri” Album: Roses and Basil Release Date: July 23, 2025 (single); September 12, 2025 (album) Label: Amanda Pascali & the Family/Missing Piece Records
In Their Words: “‘Amuri’ is the first song off my new record, Roses and Basil. The song opens the album with a Leonard Cohen-esque guitar part and a stanza of ancient Sicilian verse: ‘Amuri, amuri, chi m’hai fattu fari? M’hai fattu fari ‘na granni pazzia.’ (‘My love, my love, what have you made me do? You’ve made me go mad.’) These centuries-old lines, interpreted by many artists over time, tell the story of someone so overtaken by love that they forget the way to the church. In my version, that sense of losing the path becomes a metaphor for drifting away from what once felt like absolute truth, all in the name of love.
“The song quickly shifts from that quiet opening into a vibrant cumbia rhythm, inspired by the Latin sounds I grew up with in Texas. A spaghetti western-style electric guitar, 1960s and ’70s Italian lounge piano and vibraphone, and the figure of the priest reimagined as a Southern preacher man all come together to bridge my two worlds: Sicily and the American South.
“Though ‘Amuri’ borrows its opening from the past, the song itself is entirely my own. It sets the tone for the album: anchored in tradition, but reimagined for today. How strange and beautiful that something so old can still feel so relatable.
“The album was recorded at Niles City Sound in Fort Worth, Texas. The day before we recorded this song, my producer Robert Ellis came over to the place where I was staying, with a second-hand nylon string guitar he had bought that very same day. He sat at the table with me at golden hour and as the sun shone through the windows, he played the song in a way that resembled Leonard Cohen’s ‘Master Song.’ The wheels started spinning at that moment.” – Amanda Pascali
In Their Words: “‘Waiting Tables’ is my Saturn Return song. It’s about envisioning how I want my life to be and letting go of all that’s not serving me. I’ve been in the service industry since I was 14 years old and this song is my slightly sassy and soothing way of manifesting success in my music career. We all deserve safety, peace, and for our dreams to be actualized.” – Queen Bonobo
Track Credits: Maya Goldblum – Guitar, vocals, producer Joe Kaplow – Drums, percussion, engineer Joel Ludford – Stand-up bass Kyle Knadinger – Pedal steel Neil Burns – Keys
Unspoken Tradition, “I’ll Break Out Again Tonight” featuring Danny Paisley
Artist:Unspoken Tradition Hometown: Western North Carolina Song: “I’ll Break Out Again Tonight” featuring Danny Paisley Album:Resilience Release Date: July 25, 2025 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “‘I’ll Break Out Again Tonight’ was one of the first bluegrass songs I ever learned, largely inspired by the captivating rendition of the song by Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass. It has long been one of my favorite old country ballads to sing and to honor my Mid-Atlantic bluegrass roots and collaborate with Danny on this song is a dream come true. Danny is my all-time favorite bluegrass vocalist, and has been an inspiration to me since I was a child. I’m so excited to have Unspoken Tradition’s version of this classic out in the world, and even more excited to share the track with my bluegrass hero!” – Sav Sankaran
Track Credits: Audie McGinnis – Acoustic guitar Sav Sankaran – Bass, lead vocal, harmony vocal Tim Gardner – Fiddle, harmony vocal Zane McGinnis – Banjo Ty Gilpin – Mandolin Danny Paisley – Lead vocal, harmony vocal Jason Carter – Fiddle Bronwyn Keith-Hynes – Fiddle
Vickie Vaughn, “Mama Took Her Ring Off Yesterday”
Artist:Vickie Vaughn Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Mama Took Her Ring Off Yesterday” Release Date: July 25, 2025 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “I was having lunch with Mama at a Mexican restaurant in Paducah, Kentucky, one day about three months after my father’s unexpected passing. In her charming and sneaky lil way, she wiggled the fingers of her left hand past the chips toward me. (She’s always had a soft/sweet way of breaking strange news to me and my brother.) I saw that her wedding ring was off, a final signal to me, my brother, and her that life goes on after tragedy. The whole situation struck me so much that I had to write this song with Deanie Richardson about the day we found out Mama took her ring off.” – Vickie Vaughn
Your weekly dose of brand new roots music is here – You Gotta Hear This!
Our West Coast friends, The Brothers Comatose, kick us off this week with their new single, “Golden Grass.” The title track for their upcoming album, it’s a loping bluegrass number that pays tribute to the special regional string band styles and genre-bending of their home state, California. From the opposite side of the country, Caitlin Canty brings us “Hotter Than Hell,” a nostalgic song about nighttime summer drives, first loves, and first jobs that features fellow Vermonter Matt Lorenz on backing vocals.
We have a couple great new music videos, too, this week. Singer-songwriter Kai Crowe-Getty shares a live performance video of “Dancing on a Razor’s Edge,” a heartfelt original song about grief, loss, that takes inspiration from – as Joni Mitchell would put it – “you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.” Meanwhile, Hillary Reynolds also comes to us from an Americana space with her new track, “Can’t Turn Off My Mind,” a song about insomnia with an accompanying video that demonstrates how, to Reynolds, sleeplessness can become a familiar friend.
Keep scrolling though, because Nashville-based honky-tonker and picker-singer-songwriter Mose Wilson gives an unexpected flair to traditional country with his song, “Since I Lost You.” Wilson’s friend and sometimes bandmate, award-winning bassist Vickie Vaughn, returns to You Gotta Hear This once again with her latest Mountain Home Music Co. single, a fiery, soulful, and plaintive rendition of Vince Gill’s classic, “Liza Jane.” And, from just up the road across town in Nashville, string duo and old-time aficionados Golden Shoals turn their skills to “dad rock” for their pro-worker, anti-work-week summer anthem, “Five Day Weekend.” Of course, it’s just perfect for entering a long holiday weekend.
Country, bluegrass, folk, Americana, and blends of all of the above are all right here on BGS. You Gotta Hear This!
The Brothers Comatose, “Golden Grass”
Artist:The Brothers Comatose Hometown: San Francisco, California Song: “Golden Grass” Album:Golden Grass Release Date: May 21, 2025 (single); September 12, 2025 (album) Label: Swamp Jam Records.
In Their Words: “We wrote ‘Golden Grass’ about the current wave of string bands coming out of California that are creating a new take on an old style of music. They start with their foundations in traditional bluegrass and incorporate folk, rock, and jam elements to form that Western ‘golden grass’ sound. Lots of great string bands have come out of California, like AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Molly Tuttle, and even going back to Old & In the Way who were trailblazers for this type of sound. It’s about taking the heart and soul of bluegrass and infusing it with everything we love about music today.” – Ben Morrison
Caitlin Canty, “Hotter Than Hell”
Artist:Caitlin Canty Hometown: Danby, Vermont Song: “Hotter Than Hell” Album:Night Owl Envies the Mourning Dove Release Date: May 22, 2025 (single); October 2, 2025 (album) Label: Distributed by Tone Tree
In Their Words: “This is the first track I’m sharing from my forthcoming record, Night Owl Envies the Mourning Dove, out October 2. This song grew from the ground in Vermont, where I was born and raised and have recently returned to raise my little kids. On those hot humid nights before we had air conditioning, my folks would pack us all in the truck and we’d drive along mountain roads with the windows down to cool off. ‘Hotter Than Hell’ is a nostalgic summer throwback to first love, first jobs – those ephemeral firsts seared into memory.
“And making this record was my first time partnering with Sam Kassirer, who produced and played keys. I was nearly 8 months pregnant when we cut the record live at his Great North Sound Society in Maine. I just love to hear fellow Vermonter, Matt Lorenz (The Suitcase Junket) singing his blazing backing vocals on this song.” – Caitlin Canty
Track Credits: Caitlin Canty – Vocals, acoustic guitar, songwriting Jeremy Moses Curtis – Bass Rich Hinman – Electric guitar Sam Kassirer – Piano, organ Matt Lorenz – Backing vocals Ray Rizzo – Drums, percussion
Kai Crowe-Getty, “Dancing on a Razor’s Edge”
Artist:Kai Crowe-Getty Hometown: Nelson County, Virginia Song: “Dancing on a Razor’s Edge” Album:The Wreckage Release Date: May 23, 2025 (single); June 27, 2025 (album)
In Their Words: “In my life, I’m not one who does a lot of looking backwards or dwelling in the past with much intention. This song, like several on the record, does exactly that. The Joni Mitchell refrain of ‘don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone’ was a lost inspiration here. My mother died when I was young and this collection of memories, some with her, some without, is trying to make sense of the present in one of my more personal writes. Like many things we avoid, tuck away, wait to face another day, it tends to come out in unexpected floods and fissures as we navigate the grief of it, standing on different shores.” – Kai Crowe-Getty
Video Credits: Filmed by Zach Phillips. Edited by Kai Crowe-Getty.
Golden Shoals, “Five Day Weekend”
Artist:Golden Shoals Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Song: “Five Day Weekend” Album:The Dream and The Hunger Release Date: May 23, 2025
In Their Words: “We live in a world where we’re pushed to our limits of productivity while being sold tons of garbage that we don’t need. At the same time, we could be harnessing AI to do the work that allows humans more leisure time, but Big Tech seems intent on replacing meaningful human work instead. The song just kind of manifested with a dad rock vibe. It details my dream for a world that I think is possible – where we all spend a significant, but not overwhelming, amount of time doing the hard work that a society needs to thrive and the rest of the time taking care of ourselves making the world a great place to live in.” – Mark Kilianski
Track Credits: Mark Kilianski – Electric guitar, vocals, songwriting Amy Alvey – Fiddle, vocals Chris Sartori – Electric bass Alex Bice – Drum kit, cowbell
Hillary Reynolds, “Can’t Turn Off My Mind”
Artist:Hillary Reynolds Hometown: Appleton, Wisconsin (for the summer) and Los Angeles, California (for the winter) Song: “Can’t Turn Off My Mind” Album:Changing Seasons Release Date: May 22, 2025 (single); August 8, 2025 (album)
In Their Words: “‘Can’t Turn Off My Mind’ ended up being the first song I wrote for my album. It came in stages. I wrote the first half by myself and when I felt like it needed fresh energy, I turned to my dear friend and fellow artist, Madison Malone, for a little nudge. Simply put, ‘Can’t Turn Off My Mind’ is a song about insomnia. I love how the narrative has evolved over time. Since finishing this song, Madison and I have become mothers and insomnia has taken on a new meaning, becoming a familiar friend – whether it was breast feeding and watching Schitt’s Creek in the wee hours of the morning or having an endless to-do list running through my brain at 3 a.m., I love that this song is the first single, setting the tone of my forthcoming morning album, Changing Seasons.” – Hillary Reynolds
Track Credits: Hillary Reynolds – Vocals, piano, songwriting Madison Malone – Background vocals Benjamin Kopf – Acoustic guitar, bass, singing bowl Tom Shewmake – Octave mandolin Matt Musty – Percussion Jim Frink – Drums
Video Credit: Directed and filmed by New Normal Studios.
Vickie Vaughn, “Liza Jane”
Artist:Vickie Vaughn Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Liza Jane” Release Date: May 23, 2025 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “I’ve loved Vince Gill’s ‘Liza Jane’ since I heard it on local country radio when I was little. His version is so iconic and playful and the groove is intoxicating. I wanted to take to the song and add some serious drama, giving it a little bit of a darker vibe and instead of just singing about Liza Jane, I wanted to be pleading and angry and desperate about her.” – Vickie Vaughn
Track Credits: Vickie Vaughn – Upright bass, lead vocal Cody Kilby – Guitar Casey Campbell – Mandolin Wes Corbett – Banjo Dave Racine – Drums Deanie Richardson – Fiddle Lillie Mae Rische – Harmony vocal Frank Rische – Harmony vocal
Mose Wilson, “Since I Lost You”
Artist:Mose Wilson Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Since I Lost You” Album:That’s Love Release Date: May 28, 2025 (single); July 17, 2025 (album)
In Their Words: “‘Since I Lost You’ is unlike anything I’ve released before. It’s a bridge between worlds – a song that could invite listeners from outside the traditional country audience to experience something new and unexpected. It’s a story of love lost told with a groove that’s both timeless and entirely my own.” – Mose Wilson
Track Credits: Henry Long – Keyboards Norbert McGettigan – Bass John Papageourgiou – Drums Will Johnson – Electric guitar Stephen “Tebbs” Kearney – Dobro Mose Wilson – Vocals, acoustic guitar
Photo Credit: Brothers Comatose by Jessie McCall; Caitlin Canty by Laura Partain.
Are you ready for some excellent new music? This week, You Gotta Hear This includes a heaping handful of stellar new tracks and a new music video, too.
Husband-and-wife duo Oh Jeremiah share an intimate performance video for “Rust,” a song about aging, maturing, and the rapid clip of time that features French horn by Corin Dubie. In a similar sonic space, the Couldn’t Be Happiers’ “Brown Mountain Lights” is a co-written eerie original about the mysterious lights that linger around Brown Mountain in North Carolina. You’ll also find a new track from singer-songwriter Olive Klug. “Train of Thought” is folky, bluegrassy, old-timey, and more, and is Klug’s favorite song from their upcoming album, Lost Dog. (You’ll quickly find out why, when you listen.)
Mandolinist Ashby Frank has a new single, “The Bug,” a traditional-meets-jammy rendition of a Mark Knopfler song that, like Frank, you may recognize from Mary Chapin Carpenter’s discography. It’s hilarious, rollicking, and so much fun. Frank’s longtime friend and brand new labelmate Vickie Vaughn unveils her debut single with Mountain Home Music, “Leavin’,” her rendition of a Bruce Robison song with a stacked roster of musicians and singers.
We have a couple legendary bluegrass lineups represented herein, as well! The SteelDrivers, purveyors of “uneasy listening” and bluesy bluegrass for decades now, announce their brand new album, Outrun – their first with Sun Records – by sharing the title track for the upcoming project, a Tammy Rogers and Leslie Satcher co-write. And the cherry on top of it all is the HercuLeons (that is, the duo of veteran multi-hyphenate roots musicians John Cowan and Andrea Zonn) giving us a sneak peak at their new album, John Cowan & Andrea Zonn Are The HercuLeons, with a rare full album stream on their momentous release day.
It’s all below, so get scrolling and enjoy listening. You Gotta Hear This!
Couldn’t Be Happiers, “Brown Mountain Lights”
Artist:Couldn’t Be Happiers Hometown: Currently Winston-Salem, North Carolina Song: “Brown Mountain Lights” Album:Couple(t)s Release Date: March 20, 2025 (single); June 13, 2025 (album)
In Their Words: “So many different explanations exist for the faint flickering lights that sometimes appear floating around the atmosphere of Brown Mountain in North Carolina. One theory is that the lights are lanterns from the ghosts of miners who died in their quest for gold and jewels in those hills. Maybe so, but we think the heart of every good ghost story, usually, is a love story.” – Couldn’t Be Happiers
Track Credits: Jordan Crosby Lee – Vocals, acoustic guitars Jodi Hildebran – Vocals Doug Davis – Mandolin, high-strung acoustic guitar, melodica, Omnichord, Hammond organ, bass, percussion
Ashby Frank, “The Bug”
Artist:Ashby Frank Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “The Bug” Release Date: March 21, 2025 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “I grew up listening to the great country music of the ’90s and first heard this song when it was recorded by one of my favorite singer-songwriters, the great Mary Chapin Carpenter. I wasn’t aware that it was a cover until several years later when I heard the original recording by Dire Straits and discovered that it was written by Mark Knopfler. That band had such a deep groove on that original cut that I really got into and I immediately started thinking about how a bluegrass arrangement might work. I brought the song up in the studio when we started recording my new album and we bounced it around until we came up with a groovy traditional-meets-jam band version that I’m super proud of. Seth Taylor (guitar) and Matt Menefee (banjo) added some wicked solos and my friend and labelmate Jaelee Roberts added some killer harmonies. I even threw in a couple of yodels, which is a career first for me. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it!” – Ashby Frank
Track Credits: Ashby Frank – Mandolin, vocals Seth Taylor – Acoustic guitar Travis Anderson – Bass Matt Menefee – Banjo Tony Creasman – Drums Jaelee Roberts – Harmony vocals
The HercuLeons, John Cowan & Andrea Zonn Are The HercuLeons
Artist:The HercuLeons Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Album:John Cowan & Andrea Zonn Are The HercuLeons Release Date: March 21, 2025 Label: True Lonesome
In Their Words: “For me, the making of this record was not about career, revenue streams, or anything else. I had been singing with, around, and listening to Andrea Zonn for 20 years. Like most of us, we were stranded during the pandemic. This record was truly born out of our combined desire to once and for all record our voices singing together.” – John Cowan
“Like John, I was only too happy to make an entire record with one of my favorite singers, musicians, and humans. With the help of our dear friend [producer] Wendy Waldman, we began exploring ideas, crafting a sound, and pursuing a collection of songs that spoke to our creative and spiritual centers. We’re so thrilled to be sending out into the world, at long last.” – Andrea Zonn
Olive Klug, “Train of Thought”
Artist:Olive Klug Hometown: Portland, Oregon Song: “Train of Thought” Album:Lost Dog Release Date: April 25, 2025 Label: Signature Sounds
In Their Words: “This is actually my favorite song on the album. Written in Sisters, Oregon, during a songwriting workshop that I led about writing a song inspired by the style of your favorite artist, ‘Train of Thought’ is my take on Paul Simon’s wordy magical chaos. Breaking out of my usual literal storytelling lyrical style and breaking into the world of abstract metaphors, I let the listener into what it’s like to be neurodivergent and how I’ve recently embraced this internal chaos instead of trying so hard to control and repress it.
“With lyrics like ‘and they try to button up my suit and tie in an attempt to hold me back but I’m this strange old conductor wearing pearls and a backwards baseball cap,’ I highlight how my nontraditional gender presentation is intrinsically linked to this neurodivergence and desire to resist societal pressures.” – Olive Klug
Oh Jeremiah, “Rust”
Artist:Oh Jeremiah Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Rust” Album:Jones County Ghosts Release Date: March 21, 2025 (single); June 13, 2025 (album) Label: Baldwin County Public Records
In Their Words: “I don’t know how it happens, one day you’re a kid getting your first kiss in sixth grade on the peewee football field and the next you’re in your mid-thirties. When Erin and I sat down to write ‘Rust,’ we wanted to capture the feeling of time running in a full sprint. Your only hope, it feels like, is to hang on to those things that keep you feeling young at heart. ” – Jeremiah Stricklin
“Most people think, because we’re married, that we write all the songs together, but this is actually the first co-write we’ve ever done.” – Erin Stricklin
Video Credits: Shot by Tim Sutherland. French Horn by Corin Dubie.
The SteelDrivers, “Outrun”
Artist:The SteelDrivers Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Outrun” Album:Outrun Release Date: March 21, 2025 (single); May 23, 2025 (album) Label: Sun Records
In Their Words: “Leslie Satcher is a longtime SteelDriver co-writer with me. I happened to run into her the weekend before we were scheduled to go into the studio and told her we didn’t have any Leslie songs on the upcoming record. She made the time to get together and ‘Outrun’ was written in about an hour and a half! It was the last song we recorded. It is another song that really showcases that ‘SteelDriver Sound.'” – Tammy Rogers
Vickie Vaughn, “Leavin'”
Artist:Vickie Vaughn Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Leavin'” Release Date: March 21, 2025 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “‘Leavin” is a song that Kimber Ludiker showed me when she was playing fiddle with its writer, Bruce Robison. I immediately fell in love with the stream of consciousness style of writing and the emotion present in the song. I’m a pretty emotional gal myself, so singing this and getting to record it felt cathartic. It is definitely a heartstring tugger.” – Vickie Vaughn
Track Credits: Vickie Vaughn – Upright Bass, lead vocal Colby Kilby – Guitar Casey Campbell – Mandolin Wes Corbett – Banjo Dave Racine – Drums Deanie Richardson – Fiddle Lillie Mae Rische – Harmony vocal Frank Rische – Harmony vocal
Photo Credit: The HercuLeons courtesy of the artist; the SteelDrivers by Glenn Rose.
This week, our premiere round-up is chock-full of amazing new music. From a Chris Stapleton co-write from bluegrass-meets-country supergroup Wood Box Heroes to a Terry Baucom tribute from bluegrasser Ashby Frank, plus songs from Americana singer-songwriter Jack McKeon, guitarist Yann Falquet, and Asheville’s Holler Choir.
Plus, don’t miss exclusive premieres from banjo magnates Alison Brown and Steve Martin, and a posthumous release from Chick Corea with his friend and collaborator Béla Fleck.
It’s all right here on BGS – and really, You Gotta Hear This!
In Their Words: “‘Cannonball’ is a song I wrote a while back with Chris Stapleton. I was trying to figure out a new way to talk about the ‘love and war/love as war/love is war’ theme and of course, Chris helped to bring that to life so well. I never made a demo, just the voice memo. Hearing Chris’s amazing singing on it could be a daunting thing for lots of artists to get past, but I knew Josh Martin could handle it, so I pitched it to the Heroes for this project. It took a while to sink in with them, but I’m beyond thrilled with the treatment they gave it!” – Barry Bales
Track Credits:
Barry Bales – upright bass, vocals Jenee Fleenor – fiddle, vocals Josh Martin – guitar, vocals Matt Menefee – banjo Seth Taylor – mandolin, vocals
Produced by Wood Box Heroes. Recorded by Brandon Bell at Sound Emporium; Nashville, Tennessee. Mixed by Brandon Bell. Mastered by Eric Conn at Independent Mastering; Nashville, Tennessee.
Ashby Frank, “Knee Deep in Bluegrass”
Artist:Ashby Frank Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Knee Deep In Bluegrass” Release Date: March 15, 2024 Label: Mountain Home Music Company
In Their Words: “‘Knee Deep in Bluegrass’ is a tune written and originally recorded by my friend and former Mashville Brigade bandmate, banjo legend Terry Baucom. Sadly, Terry passed away in December. When we recently gathered to start recording my next album, it happened to be the day after his funeral. All of us had Bauc and his wife, Cindy, on our minds. Remembering this song, I messaged Cindy, asking if it would be ok to record a slightly modified version of ‘Knee Deep’ as a tribute to him and she graciously approved. Bauc was performing at the first festival I ever attended in Denton, NC. His style and persona has been an inspiration to me ever since that first meeting. I think Matt Menefee, Travis Anderson, Jim Van Cleve, Seth Taylor, and Tony Creasman really nailed their parts on the tune. I hope our recording brings back fond memories for anyone who knew Terry and will honor him as he so richly deserves.” – Ashby Frank
Jack McKeon, “Last Slice of Heaven”
Artist:Jack McKeon Hometown: Chatham, New York; currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Last Slice of Heaven” Album: Talking to Strangers Release Date: June 21, 2024
In Their Words: “I was working at a house in Williamson County, on a stretch of road that is flanked by two separate but equally cookie-cutter developments. Across from this house and squarely in the middle of all this new, was a vacant field, a decrepit barn festering in the corner. At some point that field must have meant food, crops, and a living. Now it seems to only conjure the image of an older person sitting on a potential windfall when they sell out to a developer. But with all that money comes the death of the beautiful things that made that life worth living. My boss noticed me looking at this field and facetiously said, ‘Oh, didn’t you know? These developments all come with their own complimentary field to look at.’ I wrote this song to give a voice to the person I imagined holding on to this ‘Last Slice of Heaven,’ a character at odds with the transformation around him who’s fighting to hold on to his own identity in spite of ‘a world that’s always changing what it means to be the same.'” – Jack McKeon
Track Credits:
Jack McKeon – Guitar/vocal Ashby Frank – Mandolin/harmony vocal Vickie Vaughn – Upright bass/harmony vocal Christian Sedelmyer – Fiddle Justin Moses – Banjo Engineered by Sean Sullivan at the Tractor Shed Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room Mastering.
Video Credit: Brooke Stevens
Yann Falquet, “Courage”
Artist:Yann Falquet Hometown: Brattleboro, Vermont Song: “Courage” Album:Les secrets du ciel Release Date: March 15, 2024 (single); May 3, 2024 (album)
In Their Words: “I moved from Québec to New England a couple of years ago. My instrumental background was compatible with the fiddle styles I encountered here (Appalachian, Irish, Scottish, etc.), but I quickly realized that I had to rethink the way I approached songs. Back in French Canada, traditional singers often perform unaccompanied, and rely heavily on others in the room to participate in the ‘response’ part of call-and-response songs. For this project, I began reframing these songs into a more English or American ‘folk singer’ format, and had a lot of fun coming up with interesting guitar parts in DADGAD tuning. I then collaborated with producer Quinn Bachand and a bunch of fantastic musicians to add extra musical layers to the song.
“‘Courage’ comes from the repertoire of the Voyageur folks who paddled across North America, using songs to keep paddling in rhythm. It tells the story of a young soldier who abandons war for the pursuit of love, knowing well the consequences if he gets caught.” – Yann Falquet
Track Credits:
Yann Falquet – Guitar, voice Julia Friend – Voice Keith Murphy – Pump organ Trent Freeman – Violin Quinn Bachand – Violin, bass pedal
Quinn Bachand – Producer, engineer Charles-Émile Beaudin – Mixing engineer Philip Shaw Bova – Masterin engineer
Holler Choir, “Hamlet Blues”
Artist:Holler Choir Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina Song: “Hamlet Blues” Album:Songs Before They Write Themselves Release Date: January 12, 2024
In Their Words: “I can’t speak to everyone else’s tastes, but for the purpose of songs that I perform and have written, ‘Hamlet Blues’ is my most timeless song. I know this because 10 years after having written it, it’s just now seeing a definitive release, and it feels no less personally relevant than the day I wrote it.
“There’s a very intentional juxtaposition between the carefree energy of the music and the existential crisis portrayed in the lyrics. It’s a cognitive dissonance that I’ve experienced in different settings many times in life, and I chose to channel that energy into this song. There’s a smiling nihilism that can be found at any college bar. Kids drinking to excess, with little regard for what’s happening tomorrow. Seemingly happy people, sitting on a fault line that is long overdue. I wanted to capture the dread that was the humming drone in my head beneath whatever pop song was blaring over the bar speakers at the time. I don’t find this sentiment any less relevant for bars I go into as an adult.” – Clint Roberts
Alison Brown & Steve Martin, “Bluegrass Radio”
Artist:Alison Brown & Steve Martin Hometown: La Jolla, California (Alison); Waco, Texas (Steve) Song: “Bluegrass Radio” Release Date: March 15, 2024 Label: Compass Records
In Their Words: “This little tune brings a ton of joy to me. Alison’s playing is flawless, and my singing is flaw-full.” – Steve Martin
Artist:Chick Corea & Béla Fleck Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Remembrance” Album:Remembrance Release Date: May 10, 2024 Label: Béla Fleck Productions (Thirty Tigers)
In Their Words: “’Remembrance’ is one of the last pieces of music Chick ever recorded. It’s just one of those perfect Chick Corea tunes. It sounds to me like a New Orleans funeral march, even though it has a Latin component, like everything he did tended to.” – Béla Fleck
Artist:High Fidelity Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Are You Lost in Sin?” Album:Music In My Soul Release Date: September 15, 2023 Label: Rebel Records
In Their Words: “‘Are You Lost in Sin?’ is one that Kurt Stephenson brought to the table. Collectively, we have a special affinity for the early Jim & Jesse Capitol recordings, and High Fidelity has recorded several selections from that era over the years. Here, Jeremy and Kurt even emulate Jesse’s mandolin breaks on the guitar and banjo respectively!
“Incorporating material and stylistic choices from Jim & Jesse has always been a core part of what we do in High Fidelity, and every time we have recorded one of their songs, Jeremy and I couldn’t wait to share it with Jesse McReynolds. Jesse was so supportive of us, and through the years that Jeremy and I were blessed to work with him in the Virginia Boys, he even featured us singing the Jim & Jesse songs we’d recorded on the Opry and beyond!
“This song holds extra special meaning to us as the last Jim & Jesse song we recorded while Jesse was still with us on Earth. We hope this video serves to bring to remembrance Jesse and his amazing legacy while bringing to focus the striking message behind this beautiful Jim & Jesse composition.” – Corrina Rose Logston Stephens
Track Credits: Written by Jim & Jesse McReynolds
Jeremy Stephens – Guitar and Lead Vocal Corrina Rose Logston Stephens – Fiddle and Harmony Vocal Kurt Stephenson – Banjo and Harmony Vocal Daniel Amick – Mandolin Vickie Vaughn – Bass
Photo Credit: Amy Richmond Video Credit: Produced and filmed by Warren Swann
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
